I had to share this precious photo sent to me by a “music mom”. I am sure this little student was overcome with exhaustion after a particularly productive practice session. I wonder if she was dreaming of playing at Carnegie Hall?
How do you know when you are an exceptional student? When your teacher is always asking you for something new! You work hard at the shaping of a phrase so now your teacher requests that you add more rubato. You finally reach the metronome speed in your lesson book and your teacher comes up with…
Music has so much to offer. It can entertain us but it can also challenge our intellect, stretch our creativity and soothe our emotions. This summer I am discovering that it can also bring you closer to your roots. My hometown is being highlighted in an outdoor theatrical production this summer. The St. Joseph historical…
This past week was Composition Camp 2010. This is the second year I have held such a camp. I love to compose and I love to teach composition but regular lesson time is jam packed with so much that there isn’t a great deal of time to focus on creating. The four day summer day…
For a musician, nothing is worse than an instrument that is not in tune. Sour notes can be as nauseating as sour milk. Musicians heavily rely on their ear to determine accuracy of notes, intervals, tone, shading, balance and touch. You can imagine how difficult it would be to gauge all of these things if…
My students are familiar with the phrase, “the metronome is your friend!” It is a phrase I find myself repeating frequently. Usually the phrase is greeted with a moan or an eye roll or an “I know”. Despite this,I still repeat the phrase with the hope that eventually my students will realize yes, the metronome really is their…
Watch this video and see how the human brain just “gets” music. World Science Festival 2009: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale from World Science Festival on Vimeo.
